Why Not Me?

After devouring Mindy’s first book in two sittings, I wasted no time diving into her second, Why Not Me? Why Not Me definitely has a different tone that her debut. And that wasn’t a bad thing at all. After all, Mindy had matured in age, in wisdom, and certainly in experience, so naturally so did her writing. I didn’t find myself laughing out loud as much, and yet I loved this, in many ways, even more than her first. Again, there is this relatability to her writing. As if you aren’t just one of Mindy’s fans or readers or even close friends. It’s like she is you long-lost sister. Mindy continues to share details of her life and how she has gotten to where she is. But she also opens her heart up even more widely and invites us in. To her fears. To her desires. And even to things she isn’t all that proud of. She is honest and I found myself nodding in agreement to so much of what she talks about. This isn’t just a light and fluffy book of comedic essays about life. While, yes, she has a very quirky and fun sense of humor, she also tackles a lot of serious issues – bullying, body image issues, finding true love, and balancing work and life, as well as many other issues. Mindy is a talented. Period. And so very driven. She has the very unique way of inspiring and touching us deeply, while simultaneously giving us a smile and a chuckle. Why Not Me? was a compelling, insightful, and provocative look inside the amazing life of a truly amazing person. I hope that she will continue to share her story with us. I have to admit that I was a little taken aback when I reached the end. I wanted, no needed, more Mindy.

Mindy Kaling's second book (her first was "Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me?") is another lighthearted, though superficial, collection of essays. For those not familiar with Kaling, she started off as a writer/actress on "The Office" on NBC, and went on to create and star in her own sitcom, "The Mindy Project", on Fox. Kaling's first book focused more around her childhood and early career after finishing college at Dartmouth and starting in screenwriting. Her latest book focuses more on how her life changed after her own television show blossomed (it later was cancelled by FOX but picked up by online streaming service Hulu). This book is a lot quicker and not as introspective as her first book (where she talked a lot about struggling to make it in NYC in a shared boxcar apartment, and how she struggled with body image growing up) , but has her undeniable wit and humor that fans of the Mindy Project would love. I would have liked, selfishly, more depth (she does talk about this a lot, but more in a jocular, brushing-it-off-sort of way) to her discussions about being a female in Hollywood, facing constant and the challenges she faced in starting her own television show and staying true to her artistic vision - which is my only critique - but I guess that's not really the point of this book; it's a lighthearted and humorous account of her experiences in Hollywood.The best essay comes at the end, and was a "do-over" response to a question she received during an appearance at a signing from a young girl asking her how she managed to maintain her confidence. The response was not unconventional or full of any unexpected wisdom, but the fact that she realized her brief response she gave to the fan was not sufficient and wrote a whole essay about it in her book was refreshing. This book is the literary equivalent of popcorn - it's not going to fill you up or surprise you, but it's airy, lighthearted reading.

I absolutely loved Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, and when I heard Ms. Kaling was writing another nonfiction book I was a little wary. Was there really new material she could have come up with in just four years? Was this the "b-list" collection of essays that weren't good enough to make it into her first book? Of course I would read it no matter what, but I resigned myself to be a little disappointed as soon as it arrived on my Kindle. I wasn't disappointed in a single chapter. I would actually hazard to say that Why Not Me? is better than Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, and I never thought I would say that. The humor is more consistent, the personal anecdotes go a little deeper, and the quick emotional punches ("What if I forget the sound of my mother's voice?" she lists as a fear she has while she lies awake at night) hit a little harder. I felt like IEHOWM? was like a conversation with a best friend, but as The Mindy Project once said--best friend isn't a person, it's a tier, and WNM? felt like I'd moved up a tier to have an even more intimate conversation with an even closer friend. Unlike some other biographical essays by women in comedy, Why Not Me? has no pretentiousness and, beyond that, no pretense. There's a delightful sense throughout the book that Ms. Kaling is not here to prove anything, she's just here to chat. She willingly and cheerfully points her own flaws, but balances that with the (well earned) self-pride she's managed to make a hallmark of her public persona. I always respected Ms. Kaling as a woman in comedy who puts up with unnecessary shaming of her appearance, comedy, personality, etc. After reading the chapters describing her day-to-day life, I have a newfound respect for all the work she does. The behind-the-scenes look at the work she puts in to running her show is fantastic as an intimate glance into the television-making process, as well as a nice little study of Mindy herself. I want to work for her, honestly. I couldn't pick my favorite essays, but the standouts include: an essay where Mindy describes her romance with a presidential employee (maybe a Secret Serviceman, maybe just some kind of servant? I'm not entirely sure, but whatever); an essay about filming sex scenes (a moment with one co-star is described as "the sexiest thing that has ever happened to me, and, uh, YEAH, it's pretty sexy and great); an essay about the "alternate life" Mindy might have had, which evolves into a mini romantic comedy told through the emails and texts of private school teachers (Sam and Mindy forever!) and the title essay, which closes out the book. It's that last essay where she gets a little serious and talks about confidence, something she's often asked about, concluding that "confidence, like respect, has to be earned." I love that idea, because once confidence has been earned, nobody can take ti away from you, because they can't take away the accomplishments and work that gave you your confidence int he first place. And yes, the humor is there. Mindy is great self-deprecating humor (Example: "I noticed my phone was dead and, in a desperate tone used only by women begging for their child's life, asked Will if he had a charger."). The transcript of a commencement speech she gave at Harvard Law had me cackling. In short, if you liked Mindy's first book, buy this one immediately. I'm crossing my fingers than this becomes an every-four-years occurrence (and we'd better get a sequel to the Mindy and Sam story. I'm thinking Madeline the evil principal reveals an old torrid affair with Sam that almost ruins his relationship with Mindy?), because something tells me Mindy will never run out of things to say.

This book makes you laugh out loud several times. She makes things look so easy. She makes jokes about everything that happens in life because it is true, we tend to take life too seriously when in fact we should just have more fun with it. However, she doesn't stop fighting for her dreams and she is a strong woman. She is a role model. Mindy is telling us that nothing in life is impossible without hard work. Confidence must be earned and you earn it with hard work. If you want a good laugh and gain some confidence I definitely recommend this book.

Ich kannte Mindy Kaling nur vom Hören-Sagen, habe mir dann aber wegen einer längeren Wartezeit das Buch Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) gekauft und erzählt von der Kindheit von Mindy Kaling bis zu ihrer Zeit als erfolgreichen Schauspielerin. Das Buch "Why Not Me?" darf man nicht als Nachfolgewerk betrachten, sondern eher als Ergänzung zum vorherigen Buch. Wäre die Autorin nicht so unheimlich sympathisch, würde sich für ihr Buch wahrscheinlich keiner interessieren außer wirklich eingefleischte Fans.

Best read . She writes exactly like she talks . It has a lot of humour and awkward parts just like Mindy Karling

Si vous avez aimé «Is everyone hanging out without me» vous ne pouvez qu'adorer ce deuxième livre de Mindy Khaling. Si vous n'avez pas lu le premier, ce n'est pas bien grave, foncez ! Mindy Khlaling est la reine de l'auto-dérision, on se surprend à rire en lisant le livre. Un vrai bon moment. Enfin, pour ceux à qui ça fait peur, oui le livre est en anglais, mais c'est un anglais simple et tellement bien écris que même si on ne comprend pas tous le mots, on comprend le sens de la phrase et des textes et c'est ça le.plus important !! Bonne lecture

Read this book for a hearty laugh and pearls of wisdom hidden within absolutely hilarious anecdotes. I am fan of Mindy since The Office - and I love the self-made confident woman she is -very inspiring. I find it inappropriate to judge someone's narration of their life experiences- rather it is a privilege to hear someone talk about their experiences- their successes and failures. On that note- only love and respect to this self-made, bold and beautiful artist - Mindy Kaling.